The leader of Renfrewshire Council has rejected calls for an inquiry into claims that he lobbied for a £25,000 contract to be awarded to a company he works for.

Council boss Mark Macmillan vetoed attempts to investigate how the five-figure sum was handed to Paisley’s Kibble Education and Care Centre.

The contract was awarded to the charity at a meeting of the council’s economy and jobs policy board on March 20, in exchange for Kibble providing young candidates for a clean-up programme run by the local authority.

Councillor Macmillan, who was present at the meeting, failed to declare an interest and excuse himself from the debate – despite working as a public policy advisor for the charity.

Rivals then reported him to the Standards Commission – an independent body which encourages the enforcement of a Code of Conduct for councillors – over the revelations, which he has since apologised for.

However, Councillor Macmillan and his Labour colleagues have kicked out a SNP-led move to have the incident investigated.

At a special council meeting, SNP group leader Brian Lawson called for a “detailed and full inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the political mismanagement of Renfrewshire Council’s relationship with external partners”.

He also asked Councillor Macmillan “to apologise to the Kibble organisation for bringing its name into disrepute”.

However, the calls were rejected as Labour members backed an amendment raised by Councillor Macmillan that stated an in-house investigation was not necessary.

Following the vote, Councillor Lawson, who represents Paisley East and Ralston, said: “Councillor Macmillan decided to stay in the meeting and actually moved the amendment to kill off our motion.

“He has, in effect, rejected an inquiry into his own involvement in this matter.

“I think we will have to raise the events of this latest meeting with the Standards Commission.”

In response, Councillor Macmillan has accused the SNP of using the Kibble contract as a political football.

He said: “It is shameful to see a straightforward project to help young people into training and work, which will be run by a reputable charity, being deliberately misrepresented and stigmatised for political gain.

“A written report on the project was publicly considered and approved at a council meeting months ago, so it’s hardly a cover-up.

“Further information will be available when the project is finalised and a report will be considered by the council’s economy and jobs policy board.”